Just a little pin prick

I was just sitting at home, checking emails and stuff, when the familiar "PING" of new mail arriving caught my attention. It was an email from Lana (she must be at home feeling bored too) directing me to a freaky/cool URL. Now, I have heard of extreme piercing before, but this takes the cake! I would hate to get those caught on anything! (but at least you won't lose them!)

Oh, and happy New Year to everyone! Have fun, but be safe!

More than meets the eye

Transformers fan? I am. Have been for years. I remember some neighbourhood kids that I used to sit had the best collection of the original, die cast metal ones. They had ALL of them (a little spoiled). I used to sit for hours trying to get them to transform. So when I tripped across this animation of Soundwave breakdancing, I knew I had to share it with the world! The video takes a while to download, even with ADSL, but it well worth the wait. The guys that built this did a top-notch job of it! Optimus would be proud.

(Just as a side note, did you know that there is a Transformers video game? I didn't! Just looking at some of the screen shots, and I think it might be alright!)

Church and State 101

I cannot believe the ARROGANCE of this blog! We have a major natural disaster in mostly non-Christian countries, and all these people can go on about is how fucking great their "so called" god is. GROW A FUCKING BRAIN!!! Most of the Christian friends of mine, even the devout Catholics would find these people to be retarded. John Lennon was right, "Imagine a world with no religion." And the last paragraph does it for me. "We could profit most greatly on this solemn occasion to pause and remember the divine admonition "You shall have no other Gods before me."" This makes me sick. Let's use the pain and suffering of thousands of others to instill fear into other people so as to push the churches controls on them.

This has just ruined my night.

Stereo type is as stereo type does

This is too funny.

So, I am sitting at home, surfin' through the channels on the box, when I come across this show, Extreme Plastic Surgery. Now, I am really not in favour of this, unless you have a really good reason for it (severe birth mark, deformation, burns, or maybe breast augmentation if you have had a mastectomy or something), but of course there are people with little or no self asteem that seem to think that 35 surgeries will make them beautiful, or get rid that of the fat on their ass because they are to lazy to diet and exercise. But then again, there are true cases where it will help.

But this guy, takes the cake. 25 different procedures in ten years, and now he is getting a penis enlargement. I guess that he hasn't heard that it's not the size, but what you do with it. Anyway, the funniest part about this whole thing is:

He drives a Porsche.

I fell out of the chair when I saw this. I guess that the old stereotype of a Porsche owner having a small dick holds true. (sorry Al, at least you sold yours)

Be careful what you wish

This is an interesting, thought provoking flash animation that I found on albinoblacksheep.

Take a minute to watch, and maybe learn something.

And so this is Christmas...

It's December 24th, I managed to finish making all the gift cards, and have wrapped all the presents, and am now getting ready to go to the Parents house to get stuffed on turkey and pudding. I' m a little disappointed in my Uncle, he won't bring my Grandpa down to be with us. Doesn't surprise me though, my Uncle is a bit of a jerk sometimes. It would have been nice to see Grandpa, since Grandma died this past summer. I think that he would have enjoyed seeing everyone. I can't remember the last year that Grandpa was with us at Christmas.

I was thinking something about the way we stop believing in Santa at some point iin our lives. For most people, I think it is about age ten, when you are starting to think that you know everything. Most people, I think, never believe in Santa ever again. Its a shame, really. I have come to the conclusion, that it never was about the guy in the red suit, but more about what the symbol of the person stands for. The good things, Love, Happiness, Goodness, Joy and Understanding. Lets break this down a bit. First one, Love. Unconditional love. As the story goes, he loves all the boys and girls of the world, without any thought to race, religion or nationality. Everyones equal in Santa's eye. That's a good way to be in the world. Next is Happiness. There are too many unhappy people in this world, but when you see a child, who still believes, because they haven't been taught not to, sit on Santa's knee and tell him all about how good they were, and how much they want that new toy, even the cold-hearts of this world will smile. Goodness. Santa is a giving kind of guy, giving toys to every child, giving his time to sit and have his picture taken with screaming children. Joy. Seeing Santa, always makes me smile. Finally, Understanding. Here is something that we should all be doing. If we were to show a bit of understanding to everyone else in this world, I think that we would be able to do away with silling things like road rage, yelling at the staff at a store, or even maybe the big one, war. Yes, Santa is all that rolled into one bearded guy with a red suit. Yes, I once again, believe in Santa Claus.

Well, time to go eat too much.

Merry Christmas, Peace On Earth.

Kashmir

I have just finished chatting with my lovely friend Nicole, who is at this very second, in Delhi, India. She is traveling with her man, Jake, all over the world. Well, partly. Jake is traveling the world, Nicole is only seeing half of it. They have been in India for about a month now, working with orphans, and the less fortunate. Very special girl, Nicole. (I wouldn't be surprised if she brought some those little kids home with her!)

I just love the fact that I can keep in touch with my friends as they travel the globe. This has to be the best thing that modern technology has brought us. Even this Blog is amazing. When I can write some of my thoughts down, and then have the potential for millions of people to read them. Amazing.

Nicole comes home in a few weeks, and I am very much looking forward to seeing her, and listening to all of her stories. They will not be as cool as actually being there, but living vicariously through friends some times is the only way you can do everything. Nicole, I truly look forward to seeing you soon. (but don't rush home!)

(PS. As for the title, I know, Delhi is now where near Kashmir, but it sounded cool. So Phffftt!)

Inclined to borrow someones dreams till tomorrow

I don't normally watch TV, but since I have cable at the place that I am house sitting, and I was trying to scan photos (due to the resolution, it takes a few minutes per picture), I have had it on in the background all day.

After realizing that I had lost a lot my work today, I went and watch one of these extreme home reovation shows. They did an amazing job of it, and the best part is, the did it specially for a young girl that has a very rare allergy.

The Sun.

She can't be in sunlight as it will pretty much cook her skin right off of her. So, these reno people changed all the windows so that they completely filter UV light, so that the young lady can actually be in all parts of the house during the day, instead of locking herself in her room. They also did a few other things, like big UV proof tarps over the swimming pool, and some areas of the sun deck so that she can go outside without gloves, big hats, and other protective clothing. It was amazing.

Which brings me to two things. The first, it is nice to see people doing wonderful things for other people. With all the pain, suffering and strife that the news media portray, the world needs a dose of love and happiness once in a while. The second is, be thankful for what you have. Don't look down on people because they are in a chair, or are missing an arm or have a speech impediment or are allergic to the sun. That could be you.

And they weren't there...

Arrgh!

I have been scanning my photos, for hours now, and I have just realized, there was an error somewhere, and I have lost about two thirds of what have scanned. I really don't know where they went, but they are gone. Looks like I am starting over.

But, on the bright side, when this project is done, (it will be a while) I will have a large portion of my pictures scanned and "backed up" on CD in case something ever happens to the negatives, also I will be able to put a bunch online so that everyone can see my travels and explorations. It will take a while, but it is very worth it!

Flying the friendly skies

Coming home from work, after a fun day of learning all about rain and ice protection systems and fire detection/suppresion systems (things are staying in my head again, after the big download last night!) I jump over to Fark and one of the first articles is about some freaked out dude trying to open the door of a Boeing 747 at cruise altitude. (Read article here) Now, opening an aircraft door at an altitude over 10,000 feet is pretty much impossible. The differential pressure between the inside and the outside is way too much for anyone short of Superman to acclomplish. I have even tried this on the ground, when we are pressurizing the aircraft to check for leaks. (yes, there are some leaks, but they are accounted for when the aircraft was designed, and they need to be there) At a couple of psi difference, there wasn't a chance that the door will open.

Which leads me to this. These articles that are written by the general media, about the people that get freaked out on airplanes, are just there to sensationalize things and scare those that are already scared of flying just to sell their product. This article at least had the decency of stating, after making a big deal out of a non-issue, that in fact the plane was never in danger. But, unfortunately, the scared public won't see that. They just want to see that they are in danger, and that will be good enough to have this guy drawn and quartered.

In the end, be sure to read everything, check the facts and be sure before moving on.

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."
-Buddha

PS. It is a federal offence, in most countries, to tamper with an aircraft. This brings long jail sentences, even for trying to make a lavatory smoke detector inoperative so you can fix your nic fit.

Linky goodness

If you look down the right hand sidebar, you will notice a bunch of new linky goodness. Try them out, you might like them. The photo link is to my photo archive on Yahoo, with pictures from my Yukon trip, lunar eclipse shots, Vancouver at night, plus a few extras.

Enjoy!

(PS. The photo page is updated from time to time, as I get photo's scanned, or I take some more. Check in every now and again to see what I have added!)
(PPS. I must say, my HTML skills have improved ten-fold tonight doing this! Yippee!)

Given to fly

Wow. I survived.

I actually manged to keep it together long enough to pass the test today. Engine systems were brutal. When you are trying to remember information like "The pilots input the TLA, which commands the PLA to input to the MEC. When N2 reaches 92.5% (part power), the CDT should be...blah blah blah!" Believe it or not, that now makes sense. I guess I did retain some of it. The toughest part was trying to remember a full page of accronyms, which half of them sound the same, plus engine stations, which have different sensors located at them, and how this all equates to each other.

Needless to say, after I found out I passed (80%), every once of energy just drained away. I went to the gym afterwards, and found it very hard to do much without just giving up. I actually managed to finish my routine, but I know that I will be asleep really early tonight!

Hopefully the next week will be a bit tamer. My brain could use a break. Our instructor told us that this is almost the toughest level of course you can take in the world of aviation, short of working on a specific system for weeks on end. But, in the end, this will look very good on a resume, and I will have the privelage of being able to sign out an 737-200/-300/-400/-500 as being airworthy...and that is a very big thing. Will even get a raise out of this too!

Just need to survive another 5 weeks of school...

Voices in my head

I am sitting here, listening to a couple of my friends playing World of Warcraft. We are chatting over a program called Ventrilo, which allows chatting through a headset or mic and speakers. I have used Sidewinder and MSN messenger to do this before, but this program seems to work pretty good.

School has been going good, stuffing mass information about the CFM56 engine into my head. Pretty amazing little engine. The tough part is the speed at wich the info is getting crammed into my poor little brain. Ever watch Charlie Brown, when the teacher or parent is talking? The sound you hear? Waa-waa, waa waa. That is what happens to me about 2:00PM. Total melt down! I must look a pathetic sight at that point as usually the instructor makes some comment about my head exploding! And only six more weeks to go!

Chatting with my friends is kinda weird, I am hearing my voice a second or so after I speak it off of one their speakers. Kinda trippy!

Friday, I get to move into another freinds place for two weeks to house sit for them. It's going to be tough, soaking in the hot tub, hanging out with the boa constrictors. Yup, tough life! It will also be nice to be a bit closer to friends and family.

Well, enough for tonight. Maybe next time I will have something a little more interesting.

Blinded by the light

I think that I can now say that I have completely gone mad.

Christmas lights. I can't stand them anymore. I mean really, since when has installing 10,000 little bulbs of light, a six foot plastic Santa Claus, or this monstrosity had anything with the birth of Christ?

All over this fine nation, and the one just south of us, people try and out-do each other with the amounts of gaudy displays, sheer numbers of lights, and who can run up the biggest power bill. It's turned into a display of wealth, stupidity, and arrogance.

I have thought of some pros and cons of outdoor lighting at Christmas, and I thought that I would share it with you. First, the pros:

Ummm, let me think...really now, I am still thinking...I really can't think of any. I guess that there isn't any.

I know some of my friends (mostly female) would say that it looks "pretty", but I think it looks cheap. I have been told that it is supposed to make ones house look like a gingerbread house. Since when did gingerbread houses have plastic candy-canes or plywood reindeer?

Okay, now for the cons:

-power usage. I would hate to see the power meter on some of these houses. They must be spinning faster than a neutron star! Next time you look at a house all lit up, think of how many tonnes of air pollution the power plant pumped into the air, or how many hectares of forest were cut down to build a lake behind a hydro power dam. Do those lights still look as nice?

-light pollution. Take a look up in the sky after dark. On a clear night, can you see stars? How many? Probably not many. Can you see the Milky Way or the Orion Nebula? No. Why? Light pollution. On a cloudy night, look up at the yellowy-orange glow. All of this is wasted energy.

-traffic congestion. If your neighbourhood is one of those that has many over-the-top displays, think of all those vehicles jockeying around to get a look. Burning all that gasoline. More pollution. Not to mention, you have to leave home an hour earlier to get somewhere. And then there is the people parking on your lawn, pissing in your garden. Nice scene.

-fire hazard. How many of these people that put on these garish displays, really know what an Amp is, or maybe know what the limit of these Amps is for say, a electrical breaker? My guess? Not many. I am sure that there are some smart ones out there that consult with an electrician before going at it, but how many have burnt their houses down by running 50 Amps through a 15 Amp breaker? Probably a few.


Maybe I am getting a little grumpy in my old age, or maybe my common sense is taking over. I don't know. I'm just geting sick of seeing all this wonton commercialism and waste.

I would also like to be able to see the stars once in a while.

Anyone interested in finding out a little more about light pollution, here are a few links to get you going.

Citizens For Responsible Lighting

International Dark-Sky Association

Southern BC And Washington Light Pollution Map

A little pork for dinner

Holy crap! Now having been the proud caretaker of a little (6 foot) boa named Mickey, for over 5 years, I have seen many a rodent give up its life to be dinner. Never have I seen a snake this big eat something this big.

(If you aren't into snakes and gore, don't look!)

Yummy yum yum!

The gene pool could use some chlorine

I am posting this on behalf of all the people working in the service industry during the Hallmark Holiday know as "Christmas"

I was in London Drugs, getting some film, and wanting to get a digital photo printed on the laser copier. As I got to the counter, I noticed that there were two loud, obnoxious women getting some pictures scanned. They were being really rude and they were berating the lady that was helping them, complaining loudly that she "obviously had no clue what whe was doing and that Walmart was a much better place to shop." (BTW, the lady that was helping them was a senior employee that has helped me many times and is very professional)

The young lady that was also working behind the counter, trying to keep up with the rest of the customers smiled at me as she tryed to finish off what she was doing from the last customer. I told her not to hurry, as I was the only one in line. As I told her that I wanted a photo printed, and paid for the film, the Terrible Twosome were still ranting away at the end of the counter, and I made some quiet jokes about how rude some people can be. She smiled, then the smile faded as she realized that the machine to make my print was being used by the Evil Ones. I told her no problem, I was in no hurry.

Well, ten minutes later, half dozen customers and I am still standing there. I was being patient, not in any rush, although it was obvious that the rude women weren't happy and weren't about to be finished anytime soon. So, the young lady helping me asked if we could just do a quick print, and be out of there hair. They made some complaints, but let us in.

This is when it got bad.

The printer hadn't been used for a while, and needed to warm up. A two minute job turned into three. Literally, only three minutes. That when the first woman started to mouth off at the staff and me that they didn't have any right to cut them off, and that I should wait my turn, etc. The second one walked over to her husband and loud enough for everyone to hear, proclaimed her self importance, the staffs incompetance, and a bunch of other nonsense.

Now, I hadn't said a word yet, trying to be patient. The poor girl that was helping me was looking very upset, as the first woman was still on a tirade about the way she was being treated.

And, that's when it happened. The last time was at school in 1992.

I lost my temper.

It was a terrible feeling, the shaking, the rage, but I felt I was just. These poor people are just trying to do a job, and don't get paid nearly enough to put up with assclowns like these two. So, I did what they wanted to do, I let them have it. I tore a strip off them, and then another. It didn't make a huge difference in there inflated self worth, but it sure knocked them down a notch or two. The young lady helping me gave me a very thankful smile, I managed a very tight lipped one as the rage was surpressed.

I got my picture, thanked the staff warmly, and as I was leaving I passed the husband. He had stayed out of the fray, and as I made eye contact, I got a little smile from him. I think that I managed to do what he has been wanting to do for a long time.

It took me some time to calm down, which was made easier by the smiling faces of the kids that were at the Christmas party that work threw. ( I was taking pictures of the kids with Santa)

So, while you are shopping this season, be patient with the people working there. Smile and say thank-you. And mean it. It will make the staff's nasty thankless job that much easier.

And so it begins

I don't expect this to be interesting, but then again why would anyone? Ranting and raving, blabbing on and on. If you like it good, if you don't, tough.

Get your own blog. I didn't ask you to come here.

Life goes on.